By Ed Somers
October 1, 2012

In a press conference held at the National Press Club in Washington (DC) on September 20, The U.S. Conference of Mayors called on Congress to reach a budget agreement to avoid arbitrary sequestration cuts amounting to over $100 billion in 2013 to both domestic investment and national defense programs.

Led by Conference of Mayors President Philadelphia Mayor Michael A. Nutter, the press conference saw the release of a bipartisan letter signed by 131 mayors calling on Congress, “to adopt a bipartisan and balanced approach to deficit reduction by incorporating spending cuts with additional revenue from sources such as tax code reform and closing unfair corporate tax loopholes.”

The entire letter and list of signatories is available at usmayors.org.

The letter was developed in partnership between Nutter, Conference of Mayors Vice President Mesa Mayor Scott Smith, Conference of Mayors Defense Conversion Task Force Chair Phoenix Mayor Greg Stanton, and Conference of Mayors Metro Economies Chair Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer.

As stated in the letter, “These automatic across-the-board cuts in defense and non-defense programs are estimated to reduce the nation’s GDP by $215 billion, decrease personal workforce earnings by $109.4 billion and cost well over two million jobs in only the first year.”

Along with Nutter, participating in the press conference were Conference of Mayors Second Vice President Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson, Salt Lake City Mayor Ralph Becker, Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak, Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed, and Columbia (SC) Mayor Stephen Benjamin.

The mayors used the press conference to explain the local impact that sequestration cuts would have on their communities and residents.

Nutter said, “The federal budget can be balanced in three ways – more defense cuts, more non-defense cuts and more revenues. We believe that all three are necessary. Right now, the sequestration includes only cuts -- but cities have already borne more than their share of cuts to non-defense programs, like the COPS Program. We recognize that further cuts may be necessary. However, we will oppose any budget-balancing proposal that does not include all three of these areas, including new sources of revenue.”

Nutter added, “We need Congress to adopt a budget plan that protects the working class, the middle class, and military families.”

Johnson stressed that, “The impending sequestration process is perhaps one of the biggest threats to our metro economies… which represent over 90 percent of our nation’s GDP, wage and salary income in this country, over 86 percent of the nation’s employment, and will represent 90 percent of future economic growth.”

Speaking to the impact on education, Johnson said, “You are talking about a cut of $1.3 billion in programs that help our disadvantaged children, including special education which will be cut over $1 billion.”

Speaking to the risks to Atlanta, Reed said, “The $100 million Atlanta streetcar we are building, which has put hundreds of people to work – as we were asked to do by the federal government – would be at risk of a cut.”

Becker said the cuts are “…not a number to us, they are our residents, they are our business, they are our infrastructure, and they are the services we provide throughout our communities.” Becker also emphasized the willingness of mayors to work with Congress, the business community and others to help reach a balanced deficit reduction agreement.

Rybak said, “This is the wrong time to send a negative economic jolt into the economy, and it is absolutely past time for Congress to get its work done.”

Benjamin pointed out that Fort Jackson, Shaw Air Force Base, McEntire Joint National Guard base represent $7.1 billion in economic impact on his metropolitan area, and the sequestration cuts would amount to a 15,000 job loss and $600 million wage loss across South Carolina.

Conference of Mayors CEO and Executive Director Tom Cochran spoke to the fact that both Democratic and Republican mayors signed the letter that calls for new revenues to help reach a balanced agreement, and commended mayors for helping lead the country out of the great recession.

The issue of sequestration, as well as expiring tax cuts, will be front and center when the House returns to work for a lame duck session the week of November 12.